Unintentional Return
by Dactylogram9092
Summary: Steven rolled into a ball on the ground and began to sob. He felt destroyed. His entire world was crashing down around him, and it was his mom's fault. [Steven is having horribly realistic dreams and his gem starts acting up. Little does he know, these seemingly meaningless occurrences add up to a DEADLY truth].
1. Chapter 1

Steven sat in front of his T.V. with a big grin on his face. He had an awesome day. He got to go on a mission with the gems _and_ walk around Beach City with Connie. He was pretty tired after his excursion with Connie so he changed into his pajamas and laid in his bed but he couldn't go to sleep. He was too excited, if today was so awesome I can't imagine how great tomorrow will be. He couldn't have been more wrong. As Steven's excitement began to wear off he slowly drifted into sleep.

In his dream he was on top of a hill sitting on Lion, his shield in his left hand and his mom's sword in the other. As his eyes adjusted to his new surrounding he found himself surrounded by complete chaos. Gems yelling, fighting, and, much to Steven's horror, dying. He tried desperately to move. He had to tell them to stop fighting but his body wouldn't respond, it's like it had a mind of its own. His body was turning his head back and forth, but he didn't want to look around he wanted to stop the fighting! His head turned to the right and he saw a ten foot tall gem leap toward him with a battle ax. Her gem was placed a little higher than Amethyst's and was circular in shape with a diamond cut. He couldn't think and he didn't know what to do, but his body did. He raised his shield and the gem rammed into it falling to the ground. When the gem hit the ground it shattered. What did I just do? No, what did my body just do?

Steven's body looked down at the gem that he just shattered and crouched next to it was pearl, but she looked different. She looked younger.

"Nice one." Pearl said with a smile.

Nice one? Nice one! How could she saw that? I just killed a gem! Steven tried to talk to her and explain that he didn't kill that gem and that his body was moving on its own, but as he spoke his mouth didn't move. His body only nodded and Pearl disappeared into the fight.

"No! Don't leave!" Steven shouted. "Help me!" But again his mouth didn't even twitch. He was a prisoner in his own body and his body was killing gems.

Steven shot up in his bed and screamed. No one was there to hear him. What was that? Steven thought to himself. I've never had a dream like _that._ Steven shivered as he remembered the dream. That was awful. He attempted to fall back to sleep but was afraid he'd have another bad dream so he sat in his bed and tried to forget the awful things he'd just seen.

^^^Next Morning^^^

Pearl was the first to come out of her room. When she walked past the couch she saw Steven sitting on his bed staring at a wall, his eyes wide and almost glazed over. His blank stare unnerved her. Why wasn't he asleep? He was usually asleep this early in the morning.

"Hello Steven," Pearl said as she walked towards the door.

Steven was so startled he yelped and fell backwards off of his bed.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to frighten you. Are you alright?" Pearl said as she leapt up into Steven's room to help him.

"N-nothing. I'm alright. I'm perfectly fine. Nothing's wrong here," Steven scrunched his face. She's never going to believe that I'm okay after _that_ performance.

"Okay... Why were you up so early?" Pearl wanted to find out why Steven was so jumpy.

"I...Uh..." Why am I hiding that nightmare from her? It _was_ a pretty weird nightmare. I guess I'll try to find out what it means but if I have another one _then_ I'll tell her. "I just wanted to wake up to get an early start on the day." Nice one Steven. She's gotta buy that.

I don't buy it. I guess he'll tell me what's wrong when he's ready. "If you say so." Pearl said as she stood up and headed to the screen door.

Whew, that was close one. Steven crawled back up onto his bed and glanced at the digital clock he had on his nightstand. 4:30 a.m. Okay that gives me some time to find out what that dream was. Steven got dressed and tidied up his room. He laid down on his newly made bed and stared at the ceiling. That dream didn't feel like a dream at all it felt like I was there, but Pearl was so young. So more like a memory, I guess. It couldn't be a memory though I've never seen a gem war, much less fought in one. Steven lifted his shirt and stared at his gem. The longer he stared at it the more it began to look like the gem he'd cracked. Steven pushed his shirt down quickly and shut his eyes tight. I didn't kill that gem. It was just a dream. But it was so real. Steven laid there on his bed for almost an hour and a half thinking about his dream. He came to the conclusion that it was just another one of those realistic dreams and that he wouldn't tell the gems about it unless he had another.

The rest of Steven's day didn't go well at all. He couldn't get that dream out of his head and anytime he thought about it he became jumpy and distant. It was about noon now and Steven sat on the couch next to the other Crystal Gems. Steven was on the far left of the couch while Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl were on the right. Maybe I should tell them about the dream, he thought. No, I can't. If they think I can't even take care of a little nightmare then what makes them think I can take care of a gem monster. The other gems started to notice that their usually exuberant Steven was very distressed.

"What's up with the little man over there?" Amethyst whispered to Pearl, who was sitting next to her.

"I don't know but he's been acting weird ever since this morning." Pearl replied quietly.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that he looks a little bit guilty."

"Guilty?!" Pearl said a bit shocked. "Of what?"

"I'd say he's guilty of…" Amethyst paused for effect. "Something I don't know about." Amethyst smirked.

Pearl pushed her lightly and playfully. "I thought you actually knew something. But I'm not surprised you didn't."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Amethyst spoke a little too loud and Steven gasped as he snapped out of his thoughts. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. He was extremely tired and it was showing.

"Okay seriously dude what's going on with you?" Amethyst asked.

"Noth-"

"And don't say nothing. You've been distant, stressed and, from the looks of things, extremely tired." Pearl said interrupting Steven.

Steven sighed. There was no getting out of this one. He was almost glad he could tell them. He thought that telling them would make him feel better, but it did just the opposite.

"I had a really bad nightmare last night. It was super realistic and scary." Steven went on to tell the gems the dream in detail.

"That doesn't sound like a dream it..." Pearl drifted off into her thoughts.

Amethyst was as confused as Steven was. Why was Pearl so stunned, it was just a bad dream.

Garnet, who had been sitting nearby quietly, had a look of concentration on her face which slowly turned to a look of trepidation.

"Can you guys help me? I can't stop thinking about this nightmare." Steven said.

There was a long pause. No one knew what to say. Amethyst and Steven thought it was just a nightmare but Pearl thought it was something more. They all looked to Garnet for an answer and, much to their surprise, Garnet raised her arm and smashed the table in front of them in half. She stood up, looked at Steven, and walked out of the house.

"Woah, what was that about?" Amethyst said.

"That was a little bit scary." Steven replied.

"Her being angry isn't what I'm afraid of." Pearl said staring at the ground.

"What? All I want is to know what that was about." Amethyst looked at Pearl in confusion.

" _That_ is what I'm afraid of." Pearl said still staring at the ground.

"Why?" Steven asked.

Pearl wanted Garnet to tell them this since Garnet probably knew what it meant. "Because what you had wasn't a dream…It was a memory."

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 **Author's Note: Thanks for reading chapter one of Unintentional Return hope you enjoyed. Before I sign out a huge thanks to Lady Shadow92 for all of the help. Stay fabulous. Until the next chapter, bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I'm sorry guys but I can't promise frequent posting. I'm really busy so please understand. Anyways, here's chapter two!**

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"What does that mean?" Steven said in complete bewilderment. A memory!? That would explain why it felt so real but whose memory would it be, because it certainly wasn't mine.

"Yeah, how could Steven remember a gem war?" Amethyst added.

"I don't know but I remember that battle. That happened right after we took over sector 3986. Rose didn't want to, but she was pushing her troops hard. That was probably one of the worst parts of the war." Pearl explained.

"Wait, so my nightmare was-"

"One of Rose's memories." Garnet said as she reentered the room.

"Woah woah, one thing at a time here." Amethyst said, the confusion in her voice was audible. "Why did you smash this table a rush out like that?"

Garnet's emotions were often difficult to determine but, even through her glasses, you could see the anguish on her face. She looked down trying to hide the emotion Amethyst's question brought to her.

"I'd rather not worry you with mere possibilities." Garnet replied.

"What if we want to be worried?" Pearl remarked.

"You won't be." Garnet said sternly as she clenched her fists. It was hard enough seeing glimpses of what might happen to Steven but talking about it was worse.

Geez, Garnet must've seen something bad with her future vision, Steven thought. I wonder what it could be? I've never had any of my mom's memories before but maybe it's just a side effect of having her gem. I have no clue what these nightmares mean but Garnet does. I just wish she would tell us.

"Okay…" Steven said. He had a plethora of questions to choose from so he chose carefully. "Do you know if, or when, these nightmare memory things'll stop?"

Garnet adjusted her glasses as she utilized her future vision. "No, it's a 25% chance they'll stop, go away, and never come back. A 75% chance you'll…" Garnet cut herself off.

"He'll what Garnet!?" Amethyst asked.

"Look, we know it's not unlike you to keep secrets for our own good but this is something more than that. It's Steven we're talking about!" Pearl added.

"Please Garnet." Steven added.

The pleading from the other gems continued but Garnet shut her eyes. The future she was seeing, the most likely future, was awful. She wanted it to stop but the more they talked about it the worse it got. She put her palms on her temples and gripped her head. She was showing much more emotion than she'd like to, but what she was seeing was…familiar. Like when Steven was born. When Rose died, or at least when they assumed she did. She wanted it to stop, she need it to stop. This rush of sad memories and horrible futures was torture.

"ENOUGH!" Garnet shouted. When she opened her eyes she saw the shocked faces of her teammates. She looked at Steven with a sad expression and turned towards the temple door.

"Wait, Garnet!" Steven yelled. Garnet didn't turned she just kept walking until she got to the temple door. Where she stopped abruptly. Steven hadn't seen Garnet so shaken up since she saw that gem cluster. He ran up to Garnet and hugged her. "If it's that bad then you don't have to think about it." Steven said. Not to imply that he didn't have a burning desire to know what his nightmares meant but he put the safety and comfort of his family above everything.

Garnet smiled, he was always so considerate but one way or another she was going to have to tell the others. Not now though. Right now she was going to listen to Steven. Garnet knelt down and hugged Steven, "Thank you, Steven." Garnet then stood and went into her room.

Steven turned around to see Pearl and Amethyst having trouble expressing all of the emotions they were feeling. Amethyst was leaning back staring at the ceiling with her mouth agape. Pearl had a deep expression of confusion as she stared at Steven, but she wasn't _looking_ at Steven. Her eyes were unfocused as she thought. Garnet's reaction brought questions to everyone's' minds, but those questions had no answer…yet.

"So, what are you guys thinking?" Steven asked trying to get some answers to his profusion of questions.

"What?" Amethyst replied as she snapped out of her thoughts.

"I was just wondering what you think Garnet saw."

"Oh, I don't know but I can't remember the last time I saw her like that." Amethyst replied.

"I can." Pearl cut in.

"When?" Amethyst questioned.

Pearl only had to speak one word for Amethyst to know what memories she was thinking of, "Rose." Pearl said.

After Pearl said that the room's atmosphere became uncomfortable and silent. Everyone avoided eye contact. Steven didn't know what to say so he looked around the room and saw that it was 3:00 p.m. on the digital clock on the microwave. Connie should be out of tennis practice!

"Ok we can talk about this later but I'm gonna go see if Connie wants to hang out." Steven said as he ran up the stairs into his room to grab his phone. He ran outside and texted Connie. He waited for about five minutes before she answered.

* * *

 **S** = **Steven** **C** = **Connie**

S- Hello

C- Hey, Steven!

S- Hi Connie! Wanna hang out?

C- Sure, where?

S- We can go to the lighthouse if you want.

C- Okay sounds good I'll be there in about fifteen minutes.

S- See you then

* * *

Steven was almost offered to bring snacks and drinks but he didn't want to go back into the house so he headed off to the lighthouse. He was walking through the sand towards the lighthouse when he realized he would have to tell Connie about his nightmare. He could never hide things from her she knew him too well. He wasn't sad that he had to tell her, in fact, he was a little happy. Maybe she could provide some answers to his dozens of questions. He arrived at the lighthouse ten minutes before Connie did. He sat there thinking of a good way to tell Connie about his memory dream. Connie arrived and as she hopped out of her parent's car she yelled goodbye. Connie approached Steven and he stood up.

"Hi." Steven said.

"Hello." Connie replied.

"How's your day been?"

"Super great! I found out they're coming out with another Dogcopter movie!" Connie's mention of Dogcopter brightened Steven's mood a little

"How has your day been?" Connie asked Steven

"Could be better." Steven's reply came out less enthusiastically than he'd hoped.

"What happened? Is it a magic story?"

"Sorta...I think."

"What's that mean?"

"I'll just tell you what happened."

"Okay."

"I had an awful nightmare last night about a gem war. Turns out it wasn't a nightmare it was one of my mom's memories."

"That's never happened before, has it?"

"No this is all new and Garnet is acting _really_ weird about it."

"Do Amethyst and Pearl know about it?"

"Yeah Pearl even remembers the battle that I dreamt about."

"Wow."

"Yeah, and I think Garnet knows what the nightmare means but she won't tell anyone to protect us or something."

"Pearl told me that "knowing just what to keep secret from everyone you're trying to protect is the mark of a great leader."

"She told me that too but I don't think keeping secrets is right."

"Then you'll have to ask her."

"I guess, but I'll wait a little bit. She was super sad when she thought about." Steven said trying to consider Garnet's feelings. "I'll ask her tomorrow."

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 **Author's Note: That was chapter two of Unintentional Return. Hope you enjoyed and please review. Again I must thank Lady Shadow92 for the tremendous help. Stay fabulous. Until the next chapter, bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

Steven slept that night but it was anything but good. In his dream he was lying on his back. He opened his eyes to a thick gray smoke coming from the fires that surrounded him. His body sat up and looked side to side, analyzing the situation. Steven recognized what Pearl referred to as "an ancient interplanetary gem vessel" about one hundred feet in front of him. It looked different from when he last saw it, though. The ground below it was newly disturbed and the fire seemed to originate from around it. The gem ship had just crashed. As his vision adjusted to the smoke around him he noticed dozens of shattered gems in the dirt. Lying ten feet to his left he saw Pearl's limp tattered body covered in bruises and scratches. He knew that the dreams were just memories- not even his memories -but that didn't make it any better to see his mother figure so hurt. To Steven's surprise his body did exactly what he wanted it to do. He leapt up and ran to Pearl's side. His body reached forward with a pale pink hand and gently caressed Pearl's gem. Steven figured Rose was checking for scratching or cracks and, to Steven's relief, Rose found none.

Steven's dream body (Rose) began looking side to side quickly like she was looking for something, or someone. Rose stopped looking and she focused on some movement in the distance. Steven squinted to see what it was. He saw a blurred blue gem with a red blur being dragged close behind. These gems were coming right for Rose and Pearl. Why didn't Rose pick up Pearl and run?! As the blurs got closer Steven realized that these gems were no strangers. They were Ruby and Sapphire! Sapphire was holding Ruby's hand and pulling her along at an alarming speed. Steven couldn't tell what Sapphire was thinking but Ruby's expression gave her emotions away. Ruby was determined, angry, and... scared? Steven looked on from them, just like Rose did, and noticed the crowd of four gems chasing them, each holding a threatening weapon. Sapphire ran up to Rose and stopped to catch her breath. Ruby stood and saw Pearl lying on the ground, unconscious. A look of worry flashed across Ruby's firm expression.

"Damn, is she alright?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, her gem is unscathed." Steven felt his mouth move without his command

Steven saw Sapphire and Ruby look at each other with relief in their eyes.

"Who are those delightful gems?" Rose spoke sarcastically.

Ruby let a small grin creep onto her face. "Oh, just some uninvited friends that decided to join the party."

"They're rather unpleasant." Rose smiled at Sapphire's comment.

As the attacking gems drew closer Rose summoned her shield and drew her sword from the pink scabbard on her waist. Ruby and Sapphire turned to face the impending attack. When the gems grew frighteningly close Ruby and Sapphire both took battle stances. Steven examined the hostile gems. Two of them were slightly taller than Sapphire, both holding long narrow shafted spears. The other two were as tall as Rose, one was holding a heavily built sword and the other was holding an enormous warhammer. The seven gems quickly went into a chaotic battle. Ruby and Sapphire were fighting side by side against the two smaller gems with spears. Rose was in a sword fight with the gem that held the heavily built sword. The large gem with the warhammer stood back waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

Ruby and Sapphire easily poofed and shattered the two small gems. The gem with the hammer saw her opportunity promptly after Ruby and Sapphire defeated the second small gem. She approached quickly and raised her hammer above her head. She was prepared to killed Ruby and Sapphire at the same time with one blow. Steven saw this through Rose's peripheral vision and he panicked. He knew Ruby and Sapphire both had to make it through the war alive but that didn't stop the worry that flooded over him. The hammer swung down hard and fast as it hit its intended target with a loud _clang_. The hammer was intended to hit Ruby and Sapphire, and it did, just not the way it was supposed to. As the small cloud of dust around Ruby and Sapphire dissipated Steven saw Garnet with her gauntlets raised in front of her face upon which was the warhammer. The gem holding the warhammer had a surprised look on her face. Before the gem with the warhammer could make another move Garnet quickly disarmed her, poofed her, and hesitantly crushed her gem. Rose had already defeated the gem she was fighting.

Garnet sighed,"Do we really have to do that?"

"What?" Rose asked.

"Crush them." Garnet said sounding crestfallen.

"I-I'm afraid so." Rose replied. She, Ruby, and Sapphire all hated crushing gems."I would much rather bubble them but there is no place to keep their bubbled gems." Steven knew lots of gems died in the war but the realization just struck him. Every single gem that poofed was most likely crushed! How many gems had to die before Homeworld left Earth? Thinking about the answer made him nauseous.

Garnet defused and Ruby and Sapphire approached Rose. They noticed Rose was standing protectively over Pearl's tattered body. "We should get her to a safer place before you heal her." Sapphire said knowingly.

"I agree." Rose said as she looked down at Pearl. Pearl had a black eye, her arm was bent in the wrong direction, and scratches and bruises ran up and down her legs and arms. It was a horrible sight.

Steven sat up in his bed. He felt the that the collar of his shirt was wet along with his pillow. He'd been crying. He thought he could wait but these dreams are getting longer and more realistic. He had to ask Garnet about them the second she came out of her room in the temple. Steven sighed and let his face droop when he realized he wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep. He looked at the clock on his nightstand and it read 3:17 a.m. He dropped his head "this is going to be a long night," he mumbled to himself.

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 **A/N: Thanks for reading chapter three of Unintentional Return. This chapter is a little shorter than the others but we get to ask Garnet what the dreams are in the next chapter! I think the story is moving along nicely, it may be moving slow but that keeps all of you guys in suspense and mystery :). I hope you enjoyed, please review. Stay fabulous. Until the next chapter, bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm really sorry for the long wait but I've been really busy lately. Anyways, hope you enjoy the new chapter!**

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It was 6:00 a.m. and Steven laid in his bed. He had plenty of time to think, he wished he didn't. As he sat there his mind unintentionally magnified everything bad that happened in the dream. Pearl getting hurt, the immense number of shattered gems around him, Ruby, Sapphire, Garnet, and Rose crushing gems. He sat there getting lost in thoughts- thoughts he wished he never had.

Steven hadn't noticed but Garnet came out of the temple thirty minutes ago. She sat on a wooden stool at the wrap around counter waiting for Steven to come out of his thoughts. She knew exactly what Steven was going to ask her when he realized she was out of the temple. In two hundred ninety-nine possibilities out of three hundred he asked about his dream. The one possibility where he didn't ask he got stung to death by giant evil killer wasps. Garnet was prepared to tell him what his dreams meant although it was still difficult for her.

Steven let out a groan of anguish as he rolled over towards Garnet. He stared at her blankly not processing her presence. Garnet returned the stare waiting for him to leap out of his bed to ask his dreadful question.

Steven gasped and leapt out of his bed, "Garnet! Garnet! Garnet!" He yelled as he ran towards her.

"Yes, Steven?" She asked even though she knew what was coming.

Steven began to wring his hands and looked down. "I have a really important question for you." He was nervous of how Garnet was going to react to his request.

"I know. but before I tell you the answer I think we should wait for Pearl and Amethyst."

"Wait how'd you- oh, future vision." Steven said with a small grin.

Seeing Steven smile lifted Garnet's spirits a little. She hadn't seen him smile since the first of Rose's memories he'd seen. It made her sad to think that such a happy little boy could be seeing such horrible things. Both Garnet and Steven sat in a silence that felt like forever. "Which of Rose's memories did you dream about last night?" Garnet asked hoping to start some sort of conversation to diminish the silence. She may be a hardened gem warrior but that doesn't mean she can't feel awkward.

"I'm pretty sure it was right after you guys got to Earth. That big gem ship that we found Peridot on-"

"Yeah?"

"One of those things just crashed and Pearl was hurt." Steven was having trouble putting the unbelievable and horrible dream into words. "I saw Ruby and Sapphire, too." A realization struck Steven. "Why weren't Ruby and Sapphire fused?"

"That was before we decided to fuse permanently." Garnet replied calmer than Steven expected.

"Okay." Steven was happy that he was getting answers. Now to ask a harder question. "What about when you and Rose crushe-" Steven was abruptly cut off when Greg ran into the house breathing heavily.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Greg asked staring directly at Steven.

"W-what?" Steven said suddenly confused.

"About Rose's memories."

"Oh, I was going to tell you about them once I knew what they meant."

"Well maybe I could've helped you find out what they meant. The things Rose saw were horrible. She couldn't even tell me half of the things she'd seen and done." Greg replied. He was sad that he'd found out from Connie and not his own son. Connie's parents couldn't pick her up from the lighthouse last night so Greg drove her home. She accidentally mentioned the dreams and Greg insisted on her telling him all she knew.

"I-I don't know what to say." Steven said as he looked down at the ground. He had every intention of telling his dad but he thought that it would just bring more questions instead of answering the ones he already had.

"You'll both know what these memories are in a few minutes, but be patient." Garnet cut in. She stood up and walked to the couch gesturing for Steven and Greg to follow.

Pearl walked out of the room shortly before Amethyst. Greg was sitting on the couch facing the kitchen with Steven to his left. Garnet was to Steven's far left. She was slouched back with her arms crossed. She stared into nothingness. Pearl guessed she was using her future vision for whatever reason. Pearl also saw the seriousness on Steven's face. Greg was serious as well, he wasn't his normal cheerful self.

"What's the matter?" Amethyst asked, she beat Pearl to it.

"Sit down." Garner said sternly as she slowly moved her gaze from the wall to her companions.

"Uh, okay." Amethyst was hopeful that the buzzing questions in her head would finally be answered.

Amethyst walked over to the couch and sat next to Greg bumping his shoulder goofily as she sat. Pearl stepped lightly in her usual ballerina way and sat next to Steven.

Garnet's hard expression softened as she began to speak. "You've all been wanting to know what Steven's dreams are and why they are happening." She said stating the obvious.

"Well, yeah." Amethyst said sarcastically. Garnet looked at her, her face was as far from a smile as it could get. Amethyst's cheerful nature quickly subsided.

"As I told you before these dreams are Rose's memories." She turned her attention to Steven. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but last night's dream was worse than the first dream."

Steven's face fell as he thought about it,"Yeah, it was."

Garnet cursed under her breath. She never used human profanity but she couldn't help it. "That confirms my suspicions."

"Suspicions of what Garnet?" Steven urged her to hurry.

"Well to start off, the memories will get progressively worse and more lifelike."

"Is that what you were so afraid to tell us?" Amethyst said, why so much suspense for that?

"No, when they become most lifelike Steven will actually begin to feel the pain that Rose felt, both physical and emotional."

"No! Rose was a gem warrior, Steven is just a child!" Pearl said stunned and outraged. The pain she had seen Rose go through, both physically and mentally, was awful.

"That's not the worst part." Garnet said as she adjusted her glasses; she was discreetly wiping the tears in her eyes.

Pearl was speechless. Not the worst part?!

"After the dreams begin to dwindle his gem will start to have fitful activity. It will summon his shield at random times and form bubbles when they are unneeded."

Greg was in shock. Steven was going to go through so much pain, but he had to know why. "Okay, so his gem is going crazy but _why_."

Garnet replied slowly and hesitantly,"Because... Rose is taking back her gem."

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 **A/N: If you would please review. All of the reviews are very much appreciated. If you have any questions feel free to ask, but I won't give any spoilers XD** **Stay fabulous. Until the next chapter, bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

Amethyst leaned forward and put her hands on her forehead,"Holy shit," she muttered. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. She wasn't completely sure what that meant but she knew it was no good.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Greg was completely enraged. Rose was _taking_ back the gem?

"No, no, no, no, no." Pearl mumbled as she gripped her knees to keep them from shaking. She knew that had to mean Rose was regenerating, but how? And what would happen to Steven?

Steven was utterly speechless. Taking back the gem, _his_ gem. Why would Rose do this? Why would _his mom_ do this to him? Does she know what she's doing? He'd never been hurt bad enough to have to retreat to his gem. He didn't even know if he could retreat to him gem, but when Pearl came back she was completely oblivious to what had happened with holo-Pearl and of how long she was gone. So maybe Rose doesn't know. Maybe his mom isn't trying to hurt him. He was trying to make sense of what Garnet told him. He was gonna go through hell, but knowing that his mom was causing that hell was worse.

He pinched himself on the arm. He knew it was stupid but he needed to wake up from this nightmare. Yeah, that's it. It's just another bad dream. None of this is actually happening. I'm gonna wake up and everything is going to be okay. I can go to the Big Donut with Amethyst, I can clean with Pearl, I can hang out with Garnet, and best of all, I won't be in constant fear of my mom killing me. He wanted to leave, he didn't know where he was gonna go he just wanted to get away from the immense pain he was feeling. His legs were shaky when he tried to stand. He quickly collapsed onto the ground scraping his knees and hitting his head on the small table in font of the couch. He rolled into a ball on the ground and began to sob. He felt destroyed. His entire world was crashing down around him, and it was him mom's fault.

Greg rushed to Steven's side. "Dammit Garnet! Don't you think you should've eased into it?" Greg yelled.

Garnet felt guilt and worry consume her conscience. What did she just do? She just hurt Steven in a way that can't be healed with bandages or medicine. She hurt him emotionally, and she hated herself for it.

"Come on little man," Amethyst said with teary eyes."We need you to get up." Amethyst crouched next to him and gently touched his shoulder. Steven only replied with a whimper.

"Steven please." Pearl asked as sweetly as she could. She needed Steven to be okay. If only Garnet had been more stubborn with her secret. She knew she asked for answers, but not like this, not at Steven's expense.

Greg was in a whirlwind of emotions. He was angry at Garnet for being so blunt. He was mad at himself for not noticing how much _his own son_ had changed after the first nightmare. His was utterly dejected and nearly hopeless. He was never the best at this magic stuff and now his son's life may depend on it. Why was he gonna do?

Steven heard the cries of his family members for him to get up, but he couldn't. His tears subsided but he still laid there in a tight ball unable to move or speak. Dozens of horrible thoughts rushed through his head when one shot him right in the heart. What was he going to tell Connie? His tears started as abruptly as they'd stopped. Oh no, Connie.

Steven began crying again which shook Garnet to her core. Seeing Steven so crushed with a burden he shouldn't have to carry added to the guilt she was feeling. She had to do something to help Steven, but what could she do? Garnet bent down, picked Steven up, and carried him to the warp. She ignored Greg's pleas for her to stop. She knew that Greg must be in tremendous pain, just like she was, but she could help Steven in ways Greg never could."What the hell are you doing?" Greg shouted at her, "Freaking stop!" She stepped onto the warp pad and left to a place that she thought would comfort Steven.

When Garnet picked up Steven, Pearl offered no resistance. She no longer completely trusted Garnet's judgement, but she couldn't do anything to stop her. She watched quietly as Greg tried to stop Garnet, as if he could.

Amethyst watched as Garnet carried Steven to the warp. She trusted that Garnet was doing what was best for Steven, so she reached out and grabbed Greg's shoulder. "Just let her," She told Greg.

When the light from the warp dissipated Garnet felt Steven flinch in the sudden bright sunlight. She glanced down at him to see how he was doing. He had stopped crying but he was still tucked into a ball, leaning into her chest, and breathing heavily. His eyes were squeezed tight to keep out the shining light. She would've needed to squint too if it weren't for her glasses. She averted her eyes to the beautiful landscape around them. In the distance, she could see the magnificent fountain built for Rose. She began to walk forward stepping as lightly as she could so she wouldn't startle or jar Steven. As she made her way to Rose's fountain she began to think about the recent occurrences. What she had told her teammates and Greg didn't completely explain what was happening to Steven. She wished she hadn't been so blunt, then maybe she could've told them the whole story. She didn't expect such a reaction. It was awful news but she was so experienced in containing her emotions she often forgot how bad her friends reacted.

She arrived at the fountain and stopped. She then turned around and sat down on the ledge gently placing Steven in her lap. Steven eyes slowly fluttered open and he stared at Garnet without a word. He shifted a little then sat up and scooted off of Garnet's lap.

"Is what you said true, a-about my mom trying to hurt me?" Steven asked as he slouched into himself. His small delicate hands held each other in his lap.

"Your mom isn't trying to hurt you Steven. She loves you more than you can ever imagine." Garnet reached over and set her hand on Steven's shoulder.

"Th-then why is she taking back her-my… our gem?"

"Rose isn't returning on purpose. She's completely oblivious to what's happening outside of the gem."

Steven felt better, but self pity isn't something that he was usually plagued with. His worry for his family and Connie was still at large. They'll go through so much pain. "Is it like she's regenerating?"

"Yes Steven, it's just like that."

"What's gonna happen to me i-if she regenerates?"

Garnet stayed silent and stared at the pink flowers as they danced to the ground. Steven knew what silence meant. "Oh," he replied quietly.

An uncomfortable silence fell on the two Crystal Gems as unspoken words drifted in their heads.

"Why so long?" Steven asked Garnet.

"What do you mean?" Garnet replied. She was actually confused. He must've been lost in thoughts and asked the first thing that was on his mind.

"Oh, I mean why did it take so long for her to regenerate?"

"By now you know that bubbles prevent a gem from regenerating."

"Yeah, you guys told me that."

"Well your organic body is acting like a bubble. It's preventing her from coming back, but your body only covers the back of the gem."

"So she's still coming back, but a lot slower."

"Yes." Garnet had the slightest urge to smile. He has grown so much while in their care and he was so smart. Her, almost, happy mood was crushed when she realized that this smart, funny, kind, compassionate child could be gone within the week.

"Why didn't you see any visions of my mom coming back before?"

"I hadn't seen it because this happening was almost a one in a million chance, but it happened. There still is a chance that her regeneration will fail and you won't..."

"So, what you're trying to say is... it's me or her."

Steven was again met with silence and again he knew what that meant.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I hope this extra long chapter will partially make up for the long wait. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Steven and Garnet warped back to the house. They barely talked during the journey but Steven was glad that Garnet had taken him out of the house to tell him the whole story.

"Thanks," Steven said quietly as he floated next to Garnet.

"Your welcome," Garnet replied stoically, but Steven thought he heard a hint of relief in her voice.

When the ground returned beneath their feet they looked up to find Amethyst and Pearl sitting next to each other talking. While Greg was sitting on a wooden bar stool with a very angry look on his face. Greg's head snapped up, while Pearl and Amethyst looked up more slowly.

Greg got up and stomped over to Garnet,"What were you thinking! You can't just steal my kid like that! If you weren't an all powerful gem warrior I would-"

Greg was interrupted by Steven who was yelling at him to stop. "If she hadn't done what she did I'd still be tucked in a ball on the floor." He gestured to the place in front of the couch where he'd laid a mere thirty minutes before. "She helped-" Steven looked over to Garnet and smiled-"a lot."

"If you say so Shtoo-ball." Greg said, ruffling Steven's already messy hair. Greg knelt down to Steven's level and spoke quietly so that only the two of them could here. "Hey listen, I came here in such a hurry that I forgot to get someone to take care of the wash so I bet there are some angry customers. Anyways, Pearl and Amethyst are really scared for you, almost as much as me, but I think you or Garnet should talk to them. I want to figure out what's happening too but I would rather talk to you in private and with all of this"- Greg gestured to the gems- "I don't think that's going to happen."

"Yeah." Steven agreed with what his dad was saying."You better get to those angry customers. I'll talk to you later, in private."

Greg stood up and said goodbye to Pearl and Amethyst. He obviously avoided talking to Garnet, he was probably still mad at her. After Greg had left Pearl and Amethyst almost materialized in front of Steven and Garnet.

"Are you alright?" Pearl said, reaching for Steven.

Steven backed away and pushed her hands down. "I'm alright."

"What I told you about Steven didn't completely explain what's happening to his gem." Garnet told her fellow Crystal Gems. "His situation is more complicated-"

"I'm gonna step outside." Steven said, interrupting Garnet. " I need some… fresh air."

"Okay." Garnet responded.

Steven was a little surprised with her mellow response, but then again, she probably knew what he was really gonna do. He ran outside onto the porch, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and texted Connie 'EMERGENCY: meet me outside your house.' Steven walked down the steps onto the beach and called to Lion, who came to him quicker than usual, which Steven was grateful for. He hopped onto Lion's back and teleported to Connie's house. Steven and Lion rushed behind a van roughly the size of Greg's.

Steven looked through the passenger and driver side windows to see Connie waiting outside of her house. 'Wow, that was fast' he thought to himself . He could tell she hurried because her hair was frizzy, she was pretty jumpy, and she clumsily dropped her phone. Steven smiled 'she was so cute and she was completely unaware of it.' No, stop it Steven, he told himself. That's very wishful thinking, and not to mention the fact that you're going to tell her that you might die. Steven slid off of Lion's back and walked around the van towards Connie. When she saw him he saw the worried looked on her face. A twinge of guilt attacked his stomach. 'Maybe I should've been more subtle with the text.' But when she spoke he realized it wasn't the text causing her worried expression.

"What happened to your forehead? Are you alright?" Connie put her four fingers over Steven's temple and gently stroked his forehead with her thumb.

Steven reached up and pushed on his forehead."Ow." Steven said as he took a deep breath in through his teeth. He raked his brain to remember how he got this painful bruise. 'I hit my head on the coffee table!' Steven said to himself. He touched Connie's shoulder. "It's nothing, I just fell." Connie looked slightly more at ease.

"I've got something very important to tell you." Steven said, changing the subject abruptly. Connie looked a bit taken aback by Steven's very serious tone. "But I want to take you to a place a bit more… secret."

"Alright." Connie said, making no attempt to hide the confusion painted all over her face.

They walked over to Lion and climbed on his back. Steven hopped on first and offered a hand to Connie, who happily took it. He helped pull her up and she slid comfortably behind him. She placed her hands around his waist. It happened so smoothly it looked like a routine that they'd practiced. Lion roared one of his pink portals into existence and leapt into it. Steven heard Connie gasp when they came out of Lion's portal.

"It's beautiful," Connie said, looking around at the amazing scenery.

"This is the Sky Spire. Remember, I told about the story with Pearl, Amethyst, and Opal."

"Yeah, I remember," Connie was still looking at the beautiful greenery around them when Steven hopped off of Lion.

He reached up and helped Connie down. "What's the occasion?" Connie asked Steve when they were off of Lion.

"What do you mean?" Steven replied.

"Well, if you just want to talk why did you take me to this awe-inspiring place?"

"You'll know why in a little bit." Steven was still trying to find a way to tell Connie that he might die.

"Oh," Connie replied disappointingly.

Steven reached out and gently grasped Connie's hand.

"Come on," He said.

Steven didn't want to have to climb all the way to the top, although there would be the perfect place to tell her. They walked about halfway up the winding path until Connie saw an opening to their right. They walked in.

"This is good," Steven said, half in his thoughts. It was a small grassy opening littered with rocks of various sizes. Trees lined the outside edge.

Connie looked at him with a confused look. She was about to ask him why he brought her here again when he turned to face her.

"You should sit down. This'll be a lot to understand," Steven had a sad look on his face.

"Um… okay," Connie lowered herself onto a rock near by.

"Remember the dreams I told you about?"

"Yeah."

"I found out what they mean."

There was a long pause as Steven was debating whether or not to tell her _everything_.

"My mom is coming back." Steven said, looking Connie dead in the eye.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Connie asked. If Steven's mom was coming back he would get to meet her.

"No. If she comes back I'll…" He didn't cut himself off nor did he drift off. He could say that word. It wouldn't come out. He could say it in his head to himself, _die_ , but he couldn't say it to Connie.

Connie filled in the blank. "You guys would need the same gem," she mumbled. She cupped her hands over her nose and mouth as a tear formed in her beautiful black eyes.

Steven immediately noticed her sudden change of emotion and rushed to her side. She was sitting on a medium sized gray, moldy rock. He knelt next to her and put his left hand on her knees with his right hand on her shoulder. "No, no ,no. Don't cry. It'll be okay." Steven tried his best to form comforting words. "I'm right here for you. Please don't cry."

"Why do you even care!" Connie yelled. It came out more forcefully than she wanted it to. She felt a twinge of guilt when she saw Steven's hurt expression.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Steven asked, he tried to understand what she meant but he wasn't successful.

"You must be going through ten times the pain I'm feeling right now. Why even bother with me?" Connie replied tearfully.

Steven sighed thinking of how to reply without blatantly admitting his true feelings. "Because I care about you, Connie. You are so important to me. I don't care what's happening in my life, if you're feeling hurt, it goes on pause. You mean so much to me and I can't even begin to form a word that would describe how I feel."

There was a silent pause. Steven let what he said soak in.

"Love?" Connie asked quietly.

"What?" Steven was again immersed in a pool of confusion.

"The word to describe how you feel, love." Connie was now looking him directly in the eyes.

Steven's jaw dropped and he stood up. _She's right_ , he thought. He turned to face Connie.

"Yes." He said. For the first time in days he felt true happiness.

Connie smiled and replied, "Me too."

She leapt up from the stone and hugged him tightly. Steven felt his heart thump in his chest. He reached out and returned the hug happily. Connie reached between them and set her hands on Steven's chest. Steven released his hug and set his hands on her shoulders. She looked at him and he returned the gaze. Steven began to lean in and their lips met. Steven fell into instant nirvana and Connie felt complete bliss. Theirs lips only stayed together for about three seconds when they both mutually pulled away.

"Wow," Connie said.

"Yeah," Steven replied.

"I...uh… I should head home. The gems will be wondering where I am," Steven stuttered. He was wondering if she liked it as much as he did. He was trying not to be awkward but, so far, was failing.

"You're my ride home," Connie replied, bringing up the fact that she couldn't get home without him and Lion.

"Oh-" Steven let out a nervous laugh "-yeah."

They made their way back to Lion in silence. Steven had reached over to hold Connie's hand and she'd accepted. When they found Lion they did their seemingly practiced routine and leapt through one of Lion's signature pink portals.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading. I will gladly accept any help with ideas because I have the worst writer's block. That's why it took so long to release this new chapter :( Anyways, stay fabulous. Until the next chapter, bye!**


	7. Chapter 7

Steven dropped Connie off at her house and, before he left, gave her a long, meaningful hug. He was glad that he and Connie had kissed but it also bored a deep hole of sadness in him. If he were to die when his mom returned then Connie would be sadder than ever. Not only losing a friend but a… boyfriend? Could he call himself that?

Steven climbed onto Lion, pondering that question. He got back to his house and left Lion on the beach. He made his way up the stairs and paused when he heard the gems talking, well, more like yelling.

"Do not sugar coat this Garnet! I want to know what will really happen to Steven. You've explained his situation well enough. Now what will happen to him?!" Pearl shouted, but Steven swore she was on the brink of tears. "I need to know what will happen to my baby."

"Pearl, please stop yelling," Garnet spoke gently.

"How can you be s-so calm?" Amethyst asked Garnet.

"We need to be strong… for Steven," she said.

"I know but-" Pearl placed her hands on her face and began to cry. "My baby, my baby, my baby," she mumbled to herself.

The three Crystal Gems gathered into a hug. Steven felt his gut wrench. How could he be the cause of such pain? 'No,' he said to himself, 'I can't think like that. I've got to be positive, if only to help my family.' He stood up straight and put on his best fake smile. He hoped it was convincing, but he knew it wasn't. Steven opened the door.

"Hey guys!" he said with, what he thought was, audibly forced happiness.

"What's up little man?" Amethyst asked as she let go of Pearl and Garnet and approached Steven with open arms. Steven gladly accepted the kind gesture and hugged her. By this time Pearl and Garnet had stopped hugging as well and Pearl ran over to her baby.

"Steven! It's wonderful to see you," she too had a fake smile, but Steven didn't mind. Even if it was only a charade it still brought him the slightest bit of comfort. Pearl joined the hug and not long after that Garnet had her entire arm span wrapped around the tight bunch. Steven was content. In the embrace of his protectors he felt safe. This was the safest place in the world. He was sad that even this place couldn't protect him from what was coming.

Steven said in the quietest of whispers,"I'll miss you guys." He immediately regretted it.

Pearl gasped, Amethyst clenched her teeth to keep from crying, and Garnet shut her eyes and tightened her grip.

"We won't lose you," Garnet said firmly."I won't let it happen."

Steven felt his heart warm at the thought of Garnet fighting for his life. She did that often but it always gave him happy thoughts. He never thought about it too often. On the occasions when he would think about it he'd realize how much his family really does value his life. Of course they risked their lives daily for all of humanity but knowing that he had three nigh-immortal guardians never failed to lift his spirits. Steve's happy thoughts ground to a halt. What about his mom?

"You can't do that," Steven mumbled. He regretted saying that too. It was like these words were coming out of his mouth. He knew he meant well, but what he said didn't help at all.

Garnet released herself from the hug and looked at Steven intently. "What do you mean?"

"You'd be better off with her," Steven replied.

Pearl pulled away from the hug almost immediately. "What?!" she exclaimed.

"Wait, let me finish." Pearl was surprised with how mature Steven was acting. "Homeworld is coming to Earth, you guys need a leader and my mom is just that. It might seem like I'm being a little crazy but I've thought about this before. Peridot sent out a message to Homeworld. If they come you guys might get hurt, you might even die. I think my mom has the ability to stop that. So, maybe her coming back is a good thing."

"Don't you ever say that," Amethyst said from behind Steven."Don't you EVER say that you dying might be a good thing!"

"I didn't mean it that way," Steven said.

"Rose chose to leave us. Rose knew that good would come after her death. Rose had a choice! And… and you don't." Amethyst's shoulder fell and she looked down at the ground."I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to yell."

Pearl placed a gentle hand on Amethyst's shoulder and Steven's mind rushed. Amethyst was right. Rose chose to leave them, Rose had a plan for Steven, Rose did what she did for love, and Steven had none of those things. Steven didn't control his fate. He had no choice in the matter and he felt like a pawn.

"I never thought about that," Steven said sadly.

Garnet reached out and placed a hand on Steven's shoulder. He turned around to look at her. He was expecting a reassuring smile, but all he saw was Garnet staring emptily at a wall. He was about to speak when Garnet's lips twitched and she said five words that seemed to stop everything around them.

"I won't let it happen," Garnet repeated.

 **A Few Hours Later**

Steven sat on the couch with Lion at his side. Lion had been remarkably clingy since he'd dropped Connie off at her house. He didn't mind though. Having a big furball to hug on wasn't a bad thing when you were feeling sad. Steven wondered if Lion knew what was happening to him. How could he? Although he found comfort in Lion knowing about his… situation, he knew how unlikely that was.

Since his talk with the gems things had been quiet around the house. He assumed Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl wanted to spend time with him, like he did with them, but things were too awkward. He wanted to act as if none of this had ever happened. Like how things were before. Steven's stomach grumped and Lion's ears perked.

Steven spoke in a gentle voice,"It's alright that was only my stomach."

Steven smiled when Lion seemed to visibly calm at the sound of his voice. Lion yawned and placed his head back down onto his paws. Steven scooted off of the couch and made his way towards the fridge. When he was about halfway there he heard the temple door open. He glanced to the side a saw Pearl step out of her water laden room. He would've liked to start a conversation but didn't. He was too emotionally exhausted. That's why he hadn't gone to talk to his dad either.

"Where are you going?" Pearl's voice wasn't as elegant as it usually was. It sounded more hoarse, like she'd been crying.

"Nowhere," Steven stopped walking and faced her. "Where are you going?" he added quizzically.

"Oh, just… out."

Steven didn't want to press her but he was still eager to know where she was going. He contemplated the different places she might go. A few places he quickly dashed off of his list where places like the kindergarten, the communication hub, the geode, and other obvious ones. After a short period of contemplation he thought he'd come up with a reasonable answer. Maybe the gem battlefield?

A silence had settled upon the gem and the half-gem and Pearl didn't seem to enjoy it. She asked a question that Steven dreaded.

"How has it been?"

"About as good as it seems, I guess," after the day he's had he didn't want to talk about his feelings. The silence crept back but Steven thought of a genius way to counteract it. He wrung his hands and bit his lip. Should he really tell her? Maybe not, maybe the silence would be better. No she should know. She _deserves_ to know.

"Connie and I kissed," Steven said with the slightest smile.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope all you wonderful people liked this chapter. I want to give a special thanks to JangoHarrison, who helped me a lot. This chapter wouldn't be written, much less posted with out their help. I can't make any excuses but I'd still like to apologize for keeping you guys waiting. You're all really awesome for reading my story. I don't want to press any of you, but a review would be great. Feedback is what keeps me going. Anyways, I'm just blabbering now. Stay fabulous. Until the next chapter, bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

"You and Connie what?!" Pearl exclaimed. Steven couldn't tell if she was angry, happy, or just surprised.

"We… uh, we kissed."

"You… you. What?" Pearl seemed to be having trouble forming any words at all.

'Maybe I shouldn't have told her,' Steven thought to himself. 'She has enough on her mind and I've done what I do best… make it worse.'

Pearl was standing still staring off into space. What on Earth was she thinking about? She could at least say _something_. Steven realized it was a shock to her but now, in his attempt to abolish the silence, he drove out any hope of a conversation. Not only making it quiet and uncomfortable, but also incredibly puzzling. He'd never find out where she was going now. And, in her current state, it didn't seem like she could ask questions about what happened between him and Connie.

Steven had been lost in thoughts himself and was only pulled out of them by sudden movements from Pearl. He looked up and saw her step on the warp pad. Where on _Earth_ was she going? _Literally_. Steven reached his hand out and tried to speak but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Maybe she just needed some alone time, like he did.

Steven sat down on the couch next to Lion, and hours passed. He was blissfully unaware of how dark it was outside, though 'blissfully' is quite a bit of a stretch. He stared at a knot in the wood of the wrap around counter. Investigating every little dent and crack. Every twist and turn of the grain. Every discoloration and abnormality. Everything _wrong_.

He fell asleep at some point during the night, exhausted from the day he had. Lion was wrapped around Steven, protectively, and Steven's head was rested on Lion's pink, fluffy shoulder. It appeared that Lion knew something was wrong with Steven. Every time Steven let out a small whimper Lion's eyes would slide open and his ears would perk up, listening for any sounds of danger. After a few seconds Lion would return to his light sleep, only to be awaken by another small whimper. But, what started out as whimpers, turned into silent cries. Whatever was happening in his "dream" was getting worse. Every time Lion heard these cries he would wrap into a tighter ball around Steven and gently stroke Steven's fluffy hair with his tongue. After one of the more desperate cries Lion pulled a massive, pink paw over Steven's shoulder so Steven laid between Lion's large, muscular shoulders in a shielding cocoon. Steven nuzzled into Lion's sternum and stayed there for the rest of the night. Lion let out a silent purr to comfort Steven through his nightly hardship. He never moved, as long as Steven was comfortable. That's all that seemed to matter to Lion.

Steven woke up in tears. The first thing he heard, and felt, was Lion. He was right there to comfort him. He snuggled into Lion's chest and Lion rested his chin on Steven's head. Steven had another one of his mom's memories. This was in the aftermath of a battle. He was surprised at the pain and sorrow he felt for these complete strangers, but no one deserved to die in such painful ways. He wished he could forget all that he'd seen. These things happened in the past and he couldn't do _anything_ to stop them, but he felt like he had some obligation to help them. Why? Maybe his mom knew them, maybe they were innocent, or maybe being compassionate isn't such a good thing. Maybe he could shield himself from pain if he just didn't _feel_ pain.

He realized how selfish that sounded. Earlier in the day he'd told himself to try and act positive around the gems and now he was telling himself to lock them out? No, it wouldn't be completely locking them out, so much as, not letting them all the way in. Maybe being stoic like Garnet would help. Like keeping his emotions in check. Afterall, if he didn't, he'd have to cry himself to sleep every night and that was not how he wanted to spend the time he had left. Steven resolved to try and be as stoic as he could. That would definitely help with the overload of depressing and sad emotions.

Steven glanced at the clock above the stove and saw that it was around 6:00 a.m. His dad would be awake by now, starting to open the car wash. Should he go talk to his dad now, or wait? Waiting would just delay the horrible, inevitable conversation with his father so Steven decided he'd go now. Steven stood up and went to the restroom to relieve himself. When he went up to the mirror and sink to wash his hands he noticed the immense amount of pink fur on his shirt. Steven sighed. He'd have to change his shirt. He should probably shower too, it'd been a few days.

Steven took a long shower. Why shouldn't he? It was a good time to decompress and it was relaxing. Steven got out of the shower, got dressed, and left to the carwash. This was a conversation he was not looking forward to. By now he realized that telling people about his dreams didn't help him, it didn't help answer any questions, it only caused him and others emotional pain. A lot of emotional pain. He spotted his dad in the distance and began questioning his decision to come a talk to him. This was a lot to talk about, but it is going to happen sometime. His dad saw him a began to approach Steven. Steven took a deep breath and began walking up to his dad as well. There's no turning back now.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I just wanted to let you all know that I seriously considered abandoning this story and I still might. I've got lots of things to do, but I don't want to make any excuses. You've all been really supportive and I wish that I could give you consistent posting, you deserve that, but I can't deliver. Writing has taken a back seat to the other activities I'm engaged in and you really don't deserve such an unreliable author. I can't apologize enough. Anyways, stay fabulous. Until the (possible) next chapter, bye!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** **Hey guys, I just thought I'd post this short lil chapter. Enjoy!**

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"Shtoo-ball!" Greg shouted. "I was wondering when you were gonna come talk to me."

"Sorry, yesterday was a little… crazy." Steven replied, looking down at the ground. He refused to make direct eye contact with his father.

"Are you okay?" Greg approached Steven, knelt down next to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. "This is a lot of stuff to take in."

"I'm great, just really really… sad." Steven nearly broke into tears when he said that last word. He turned to his dad and buried his head into his shoulder. Steven didn't let any tears fall though, he was supposed to be stoic.

"Oh no, it's okay. I'm here for you. You can cry if you need to," Greg muttered comfortingly.

"No, I'm fine." Steven said as he pushed off of his dad and cleared his throat. "We still need to talk."

"Oh, um, yeah. Alright." Greg was a bit taken aback at Steven's serious demeanor.

They trotted over to Greg's van, opened the back, and sat there. They had to shuffle around a bit of trash before they could sit comfortably, but they didn't mind. Neither of them really wanted to jump into the subject of Steven's untimely demise, so they sat in silence. Greg was no longer mad at Garnet. She'd done what was necessary to help Steven and he was actually grateful. He was immensely curious as to what Garnet had told Steven when they warped away, though. Maybe that's what Steven was going to tell Greg right now. At the moment, though, that wasn't Greg's main concern. He was mostly just happy to be spending time with his son.

"Rose isn't really _taking_ back the gem so much as reclaiming it," Steven muttered. He felt that it was important for Greg to know that the love of his life wasn't trying to kill their son.

"So, she's not trying to kill you," Greg said with a sigh of relief.

"No, she's just regenerating."

"Oh… so that means-"

"My body was acting as a bubble to stop her from coming back, but my body only covers half of the gem. She's coming back, just slower," Steven said as he interrupted Greg.

"But you've got a human body. You shouldn't need your gem to stay alive," Greg added intuitively.

"I thought about that, too. I figured that when she takes form her body will take the place of mine. As in, she solidifies where my body is… inside of me... killing me," Steven stated as a lump formed in his throat and tears budded in his eyes.

Steven turned to his dad, "I'm scared. I don't wanna die."

Greg reached for Steven and embraced him. "I won't let you die, Steven. Everything's gonna be okay."

At this point Steven let go. He sobbed into his father's shoulder as Greg let a few tears fall, too.

…

She was sitting on a floating, grassy rock with her head dangling between her knees. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She'd cried too much already and her gem-constructed body had no more tears left to give. So she sat there, her body overrun by sobbs that would never come.

She wasn't all that surprised when Steven told her that he and Connie had kissed. They did show a lot of affection towards each other, but she couldn't bring herself to talk. All she wanted to do was run up and embrace Steven, to cover his face with kisses and tell him that everything was going to be okay. She couldn't though. Doing that would only remind her of what she was going to lose. So she ran, and Pearl hated herself for it.

This was similar to what she did when she found out Rose was pregnant. She pretended to constantly be angry and spiteful, when all she really wanted to do was spend time with Rose. That's why she would come to this place again and again. This gem battlefield where so many crystal gems were lost. This single rock where Rose asked her to join the rebellion. This single spot of grass where Steven told her that he thought she was "pretty great." So she could reminisce about joys long past and fight her own raging battle inside.

* * *

 **A/N:** **I'm completely aware of my prolonged absence, but I can only thank all of you for your continued support. Writing isn't one of my main passions anymore, but it still makes me happy and if you guys are happy too that makes it all the better. Anyways, stay fabulous. Until the next chapter, bye!**


	10. Chapter 10

Garnet stood in Steven's bedroom. Her arms were crossed as she stared at his bed. Her visor betrayed no emotion. The only way you could tell she was in emotional turmoil was the occasional flicker of her form. She was surprised that she stayed together through all of this. Yes, she was strong, but even Pearl's trickery made her fall apart once. How Steven's near inevitable demise hadn't torn her fusion apart is beyond her… almost. Every last ounce of her willpower was being used to hold herself together. Her love for Steven was the only thing strong enough to keep her whole. She laughed to herself. That thought reminded her of a story Steven had told her once. In the story Garnet had to fight the evil Ringo with the help of her friends Hoppy and Hopper. In the end Garnet only defeated Ringo because of her immense love for Steven. This small chuckle turned back to a stern expression almost instantaneously. She was reminded of an ominous truth. In order to save Steven she had to be fused. In order to save Steven she had to be together. So she stayed that way. Barely held together with tape and glue.

Amethyst appeared out of her room with a smile on her face. Garnet turned to look at her and was astonished. How could amethyst be smiling at a time like this?! Especially after the last thing she said to Steven; that he was essentially a pawn in Rose's story.

Amethyst was unaware of Garnet's presence in Steven's bedroom as she walked into the kitchen. Amethyst began to hum and started pulling things out of the cupboards. 'What on Earth is she doing?' Garnet thought. The ingredients Amethyst pulled seemed to be for… a cake?

Amethyst glanced up towards Steven's bedroom and made eye contact with Garnet. Garnet still had her arms crossed with her stern expression.

Amethyst froze, "I'm… uh… I'm just…"

Garnet stomped her foot and stood up straight. She cleared her throat and stared at Amethyst intently, " Whatever it is you're doing… I want in."

…

Now that Pearl had time to calm down she stood up and made her way to the warp pad. She wanted to talk to and hang out with Steven. She was determined to make what little time he had left memorable.

Pearl hugged herself as she stood on the warp pad and debated whether or not she should go back. She inhaled deeply. She knew that when she saw Steven she would be overcome with emotion, but she won't run this time. She will accept what the world has thrown at her, even though she's not happy about it.

Pearl knows that Garnet doesn't want to see her right now. Garnet doesn't like to be around her in times of crisis. She always gets anxious and asks Garnet an overwhelming number of questions, then gets mad when Garnet doesn't give her definitive answers. She knows that Garnet can't know the answer, but she can't help it.

A small smile slid across Pearl's face as she remembered all of the times Garnet has helped her. Even on this very battlefield Garnet used her future vision to save countless lives. Why was going back even a question for her? Of course she was going back! She had a loving family that she needs and that needs her.

Pearl warped to the temple and the first thing she saw was Amethyst covered in flour, Garnet with a huge smile, and Steven, with raw egg in his hair, laughing hysterically. She grinned and approached the group.

Steven saw her and exclaimed, "Pearl you're back!" He sprinted towards her and gave her a hug.

"Yes, and I'm very glad to see you." Pearl replied as she bent down to hug him back.

After they finished hugging, Pearl picked a few pieces of egg shell out of Steven's hair. He noticed and started trying to help her.

"What happened?"

"Garnet and Amethyst were baking when I got here and they said I could help. It started out fine, but things got a little crazy," Steven snickered.

"Yeah! It was all like BOOM! And then it was like POW!" Amethyst gesticulated wildly. Pearl smiled at Amethyst's over-the-top explanation.

"Well, what was this," Pearl waved to the mess that used to be a clean kitchen, "supposed to be?"

"A cake!" Steven jumped up and down. "With lots of frosting and sprinkles and candles and…" Steven turned to Garnet, "Can it have maple syrup?"

"Of course, Steven," Garnet responded with a slight nod and grin.

"And maple syrup!" Steven finished exuberantly.

"That sounds delightful!" Pearl clapped her hands.

She discreetly looked up at Garnet and Amethyst, who were no longer smiling. Amethyst gave Pearl a wink and Garnet nodded inconspicuously. They wanted to give Steven the best last days of his life and she understood.

She lowered her gaze back onto Steven. "Mind if I help?"

"No!" Steven answered as if she were crazy, "Of course you can help. Why would I mind?"

As Pearl and Steven approached the others there was a knock at the door. It was Connie! Steven made a beeline from where he stood to the screen door. He swung it open.

"Hey! How are you?" Steven inquired, even though he was more curious as to why she was here. This was such an odd time to decide to visit.

"I'm good. How're you?"

"Great actually! We were just making a cake." Steven stepped aside so he wouldn't obscure her vision. Connie saw the mess in the kitchen and smiled, 'That's some cake,' she thought.

"Woah, are you guys still working on it?" She only asked this because she was interested in joining them. Garnet had texted her on Steven's phone early this morning when Steven was off talking to his dad. She told her that today would be a good day to come hang out with Steven because things would only get worse from here on in. She gladly obliged and came over after a while.

"Definitely, we've barely got any of if finished," Steven laughed at the irony. How could there be such a huge mess when there's hardly anything done?! "You can join us if you'd like."

"Thank you, Steven, I'd love to," Connie replied kindly. "You're quite the gentleman," She then curtsied.

"The pleasure is all mine," Steven bowed.

They looked at each other and giggled. Connie never failed to make Steven laugh and the contrary held true as well. They made their way over to the gems and began cooking. It was messy and unorganized, which irritated Pearl, but it was fun nonetheless. The remainder of the morning and part of the afternoon went on like this. They finished their cake, then played board games and sang karaoke. Everyone was having a wonderful time. It's a shame that all good things must come to an end.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you all for sticking with me through this rough patch. I'm hoping to start writing and producing more content for you all. I can't begin to explain how much I love each and every one of you. For inspiration I read back through the reviews and some messages that were sent to me and you guys couldn't have been more caring and supportive. Thank you and stay fabulous. Until the next chapter, bye!**


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